Rain could pose problems for camp

Wednesday

Jul 10, 2013 at 9:10 AMJul 10, 2013 at 9:34 AM

The only thing not welcomed at the 18th annual Manning Passing Academy is rain.For the eighth consecutive summer, the Manning Passing Academy will host hundreds of high school quarterbacks and receivers at Nicholls State University.The passing academy runs from Thursday to Sunday with the 2013 Papa John's Air-it-Out and Iberia Bank Quarterback Challenge at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium.

Teddy RenoisStaff Writer

The only thing not welcomed at the 18th annual Manning Passing Academy is rain.For the eighth consecutive summer, the Manning Passing Academy will host hundreds of high school quarterbacks and receivers at Nicholls State University.The passing academy runs from Thursday to Sunday with the 2013 Papa John's Air-it-Out and Iberia Bank Quarterback Challenge at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium.Campers get instruction for former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and his sons, NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli. The campers will also work with 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and Alabama's A.J. McCarron as well as several other quarterbacks from Football Bowl Subdivision programs.Archie Manning said the relationship over the past eight years with Nicholls has gone well, and with some improvements to the fields, he expects the camp to remain in Thibodaux for some time.The camp is held on several football fields between Guidry Stadium and the Thibodaux Medical Plaza, and it is an area that can get swampy if rain is in the forecast."It's been good and the people have treated us well. The hardest thing is we have so many kids that we need enough grass. We do have enough grass, but it is to keep it dry," Archie said. "We hope the rain stays away, Last year, we had too much rain. But, it's been a great relationship, and the people of Thibodaux and Nicholls have treated us great. (Nicholls football coach) Charlie (Stubbs) has been great, and he enjoys having us around. He couldn't be more accommodating with the facilities."While the camp is likely to stay in Thibodaux, there have been other suitors; however, Archie said improved drainage to the field is coming, and those improvements reaffirm his commitment to staying at Nicholls."We are working on getting some relief for that big field," Archie said. "We are going to get the drainage fixed, and it is coming along good. We are not looking to go anywhere else. We have had opportunities to go elsewhere, but Thibodaux has been good to us. We expect to be there for a long time."Nicholls Vice President of Administration Mike Davis, said funding for economic development is going to allow the university to add drainage and a turtle back to the fields."The whole section back there behind the football stadium is basically flat, and it doesn't drain well," Davis said. "We do have some money coming from the state that will allow us to tear up those fields and put in better drainage. There is no turtle back and no drainage in place, but that is what we hope to get done for next year's camp."The Thibodaux area had heavy rains on Sunday; however, Davis said the fields were so dry the moisture soaked up fast, but with a 70 percent chance of rain on Friday and a 30 percent chance over the weekend, any constant rain during the duration of the camp could saturate the fields quickly.Davis said rain is inevitable in July, but the rain also brings an unexpected problem for campers besides muddy fields."We're okay. We didn't get any real heavy rain until Sunday, but we took 2 1/2 inches of rain. The fields were dry and handled it well but the biggest problem that we have now is ants," Davis said. "When it is dry, ants burrow deep in the ground to get out of the heat, but when the rain comes, they pop out of the ground. A field that didn't have any ants on it Sunday looks like ants heaven on Monday. The fields are in good condition, but our problem will be if we keep getting heavy rain every day. We can take a little rain for a couple of days, but only if we have a few dry spells."The grass was cut on Sunday, and we are painting the lines and treating the ant piles. Everyone is working hard, but the one thing we can't control is the rain, and we just have to keep our fingers crossed."